Sis Will Stick With You Till the End
Flames roared as Arcia tore through the looters. Amid the blazing inferno, she slowly emerged.
Her gaze immediately fixed on Ian. And—
"Ignite."
Kwaaaak!
"Argh!"
"Kyaak!"
With a mere gesture and a single word, the two looters around Ian were engulfed in flames. The blaze consumed them in an instant, swallowing them whole. The heat was so intense it scorched the very air, yet it left Ian completely unharmed.
"Ian, sorry. Sis was too late, huh?"
Her tone was refreshingly light, utterly at odds with the brutal scene moments before.
Ian swallowed hard. Relief washed over him at the sight of her on his side.
"G-Good... you're safe..."
"No."
Arcia shook her head slightly.
"I should've done this sooner."
She averted her gaze for a moment, murmuring.
"I didn't want to show you this cruel side of me."
Behind her loomed a massive tunnel. The labyrinth wall looked as if something enormous had burst through it.
"Still, the mark made it easy to find you."
Arcia pointed to the red slave mark on Ian's shoulder.
"That thing? When you take your clothes off, Ian—"
She paused teasingly.
"—it tells me your exact location. Hehe."
Arcia smiled sweetly. But to Ian, that smile felt utterly terrifying for some reason.
"Y-You crazy bitch!"
The looter leader, stunned by the sudden turn, snapped out of it and charged at Arcia.
Whoosh!
Her greatsword arced in a massive parabola, crashing down toward Arcia's head. The pressure alone felt like it could cleave her in two.
Bam!
The blade never reached her. It halted dead in midair, not even coming close.
"Begone."
Arcia glanced at her dismissively and spat the word.
Kwaaaaa!
A massive pillar of fire erupted beneath the leader's feet.
"Hmph."
Arcia flicked her hand as if swatting a bug, then slowly walked toward Ian.
"You must've been scared, huh?"
"Behind you, Sis!"
Ian shouted. The charred looter leader was charging at the beaming Arcia from behind.
"Die, you fucking bitch!"
Bam!
Once again, the greatsword stopped against Arcia's barrier.
Kaboom!
The blade exploded, shaking the shield violently.
"Aymdel!"
The leader called out to the archer who was preparing to flee.
"Y-Yes!"
The archer seemed to grasp her intent and nocked an arrow.
"These pests..."
Arcia began preparing another spell in the meantime.
Kwaaaak!
Another fire pillar surged up. The leader barely rolled aside to dodge, but her right arm was burning.
"Fuck..."
She ripped off her right arm's armor and hurled it away.
Arcia drew up more mana. But then—
"Aymdel! You done yet?!"
"C-Coming now!"
The archer drew her bowstring taut. And released.
Shwick—
A single small arrow. But its destructive power was anything but small.
Kraka-kaka-kak!
Arcia's barrier cracked with a grotesque sound.
Shatter!
It finally broke into pieces.
"Die, fuck!"
The leader spat curses and charged. Arcia halted her spell and hurriedly prepared a new barrier. But the leader wasn't aiming for Arcia.
It was Ian.
She grabbed him in an instant. Ian had no time to resist before her left hand clamped down on him.
"Stay still!"
A cold blade pressed against his throat.
"Don't draw mana."
The moment Arcia tried to cast again—
Slice.
The leader nicked Ian's neck. A thin trickle of blood welled up.
"D-Don't!"
Arcia gritted her teeth. The mana in her hand wavered violently.
As the two glared at each other in tense standoff, Ian slowly moved his hand. He placed it on the leader's bare arm—unguarded by armor.
She was an adventurer who handled mana; faint traces rippled around her. It felt entirely different from Arcia's.
The sensation transmitted through Ian's fingertips. Mana seeped into her muscles, condensing into power. His body felt completely different from before.
"I said stay still!"
The leader warned, but it was too late. Ian's hands gripped her arm.
And lifted it clean off the ground.
"Wh-What?!"
Shock flashed across the leader's face. It was a strength impossible for Ian's body.
"Like this?"
Ian muttered, eyeing the sword in her grip. His hand slid over the guard.
And he shoved mana into it.
Kaboom!
"Argh!"
The sword exploded outright. The blade shattered, fragments flying everywhere.
Ian blocked his face with his arm in time. But he couldn't stop them all. Short metal shards grazed his arm and shoulder, slicing flesh.
The leader, unable to use both hands, took a deep gash to the face.
Thud.
Her mortally wounded body crumpled backward, motionless.
"Arghhh!"
Meanwhile, the archer in the back was engulfed in flames.
"Ian, you okay...? Sniff, sniff... what about all this blood..."
Having dealt with the archer, Arcia rushed to Ian, sniffling as she checked him frantically.
"I'm fine."
"H-How can you say that... it's such a waste..."
"Huh?"
Ian blinked blankly at her oddly off-target words.
Thud.
Watching her, Ian collapsed to the ground. He'd said he was fine, but with no armor, blade fragments were embedded all over his body. As tension released, pain flooded in.
"Ugh...!"
His body shuddered violently. He'd held out until now, but the shards in his arm, shoulder, and side throbbed like burns.
Ian blacked out.
"Ian!"
Arcia's face paled instantly. She dropped to her knees and cradled him.
"Hang on... just hang on...!"
Her hands trembled. Faint red mana leaked from her fingertips.
But it stopped.
"No... if I cast now..."
She clenched her teeth. Healing magic now might leave metal shards inside.
Carefully, she used mana to extract the fragments one by one.
"Sniff... sniff... sorry... I'm so sorry..."
For whatever reason, she kept apologizing nonstop as she healed him. Fortunately, color was returning to Ian's face.
"But... you're so pretty..."
Even as she healed, her hands didn't stop caressing his bare skin.
"Hah... hah..."
Arcia's breathing grew ragged. Her hands slowed, then she naturally leaned down.
And licked the blood from his shoulder wound.
"Ah... still warm..."
Her tongue traced slowly around the injury. As if confirming, or etching it into memory so it never happened again.
"Ian's scent... so good..."
Arcia's eyes glazed over dreamily.
After patching himself up, Ian ascended the labyrinth with Arcia. The 1st-floor mage had already bled out. With her death, the finger's effect vanished too.
The moment they exited—
Ian sensed a change in his body. No bright light burst like when gaining a boon.
But he knew for sure.
"Arcia."
Ian extended his hand.
"Yeah?"
Faint mana began gathering slowly above his palm.
"...Ian? No way."
Ian could now sense mana without a boon.
"I think I can form a circle now."
To make a circle, one needed to sense mana first. He couldn't do it right away, but with one, casting would be far easier.
"Congrats, Ian. You've taken your first step toward becoming a real mage."
Arcia beamed genuinely, as if it were her own achievement.
Ian stared at his hand. The faint mana pooling in his palm flickered like a candle flame—
But it was real. Mana drifting in the air brushed his skin like invisible waves.
"Amazing..."
Ian murmured. A sensation he'd only felt through boons before.
Now, even at rest, he vaguely perceived mana flows.
Arcia asked quietly.
"What do you feel right now?"
"Hm..."
Ian closed his eyes briefly.
"Like... something small floating in my hand."
"Exactly."
Arcia nodded.
"That's mana."
Her eyes softened.
"Now you can truly use magic, Ian."
She stepped closer and took his hand.
In that instant—
The mana atop his hand sharpened crystal clear.
"Ah..."
And Ian realized something new. Immense mana poured endlessly from Arcia.
He looked at her in awe.
Arcia grinned playfully.
"You'll still need Sis's help for a while."
She gripped his hand tightly, as if she'd never let go.
"Don't worry."
Her red eyes curved gently.
"Sis will be with you till the end."